U.S. patent application number 13/086118 was filed with the patent office on 2011-10-20 for systems and methods for interface management.
Invention is credited to Chien-Wen Chen, Po-Yen LEE, Li-Wen Lian, Pai-Chang Yeh.
Application Number | 20110258555 13/086118 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44359536 |
Filed Date | 2011-10-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110258555 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; Po-Yen ; et
al. |
October 20, 2011 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERFACE MANAGEMENT
Abstract
Methods and systems for interface management are provided.
First, a request message, requesting for arrangement information of
at least one interface is received from a server, wherein the at
least one interface contains at least one object and can be
displayed on a screen of an electronic device according to the
arrangement information. In response to the request message,
respective arrangement information of the at least one interface is
obtained and then transmitted to the server, such that a simulated
interface of the at least one interface is displayed on a user
interface at the server side based on the respective arrangement
information received by the server, wherein when a change is made
to the simulated interface of the at least one interface at the
server side, the arrangement of the at least one interface is
accordingly changed.
Inventors: |
LEE; Po-Yen; (Taoyuan
County, TW) ; Yeh; Pai-Chang; (Taoyuan County,
TW) ; Chen; Chien-Wen; (Taoyuan County, TW) ;
Lian; Li-Wen; (Taoyuan County, TW) |
Family ID: |
44359536 |
Appl. No.: |
13/086118 |
Filed: |
April 13, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61324303 |
Apr 15, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/744 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/00 20130101;
G06F 9/451 20180201 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/744 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/01 20060101
G06F003/01; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for interface management, for use
in an electronic device, comprising: receiving a request message,
requesting for arrangement information of at least one interface
from a server, wherein the at least one interface contains at least
one object and can be displayed on a screen of the electronic
device according to the arrangement information; in response to the
request message, obtaining respective arrangement information of
the at least one interface; and transmitting the respective
arrangement information of the at least one interface to the
server, such that a simulated interface of the at least one
interface is displayed on a user interface at the server side based
on the respective arrangement information received by the server,
wherein when a change is made to the simulated interface of the at
least one interface at the server side, the arrangement of the at
least one interface is accordingly changed.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one interface
comprises a plurality of objects and the respective arrangement
information of the at least one interface comprises position
information, and a type, and/or a name of each of the objects.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the objects comprise at least one
background, at least one widget, at least one application icon, or
at least one button.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving an updating
request message from the server; and rearranging the objects of
each of the at least one interface when respective arrangement
information corresponding to the at least one interface is
indicated by the updating request message.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: providing a timestamp
to each of the objects; and synchronizing the arrangement
information of the at least one interface and the arrangement
information of the simulated interface displayed on the user
interface at the server side according to the timestamp of each
object and a timestamp of respective objects at the server
side.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein one of the objects of the at
least one interface is rearranged according to a respective object
displayed on the simulated interface when the respective timestamp
of the object is older than that of the respective object on the
simulated interface.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one interface is
further divided into a plurality of display areas and the
respective arrangement information of the at least one interface
comprises information indicating a display area of each object.
8. A system for interface management for use in an electronic
device, comprising: a storage unit comprising at least one
interface, wherein the interface at least comprises one object and
arrangement information corresponding thereto; a screen displaying
the at least one interface according to the arrangement
information; and a processing unit receiving a request message,
requesting for the arrangement information of the at least one
interface from a server, obtaining respective arrangement
information of the at least one interface in response to the
request message, and transmitting the respective arrangement
information of the at least one interface to the server, such that
a simulated interface of the at least one interface is displayed on
a user interface at the server side based on the respective
arrangement information received by the server, wherein when a
change is made to the simulated interface of the at least one
interface at the server side, the arrangement of the at least one
interface is accordingly changed.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one interface
comprises a plurality of objects and the respective arrangement
information of the at least one interface comprises position
information, and a type and/or a name of each of the objects.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the objects comprise at least
one background, at least one widget, at least one application icon,
or at least one button.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing unit further
receives an updating request message from the server and rearranges
the objects of each of the at least one interface when respective
arrangement information corresponding to the at least one interface
is indicated by the updating request message.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the objects is provided
with a timestamp and the processing unit further synchronizes the
arrangement information of the at least one interface and the
arrangement information of the simulated interface displayed on the
user interface at the server side according to the timestamp of
each object and a timestamp of respective objects at the server
side.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein one of the objects of the at
least one interface is rearranged according to a respective object
displayed on the simulated interface when the respective timestamp
of the object is older than that of the respective object on the
simulated interface.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one of the objects of the
at least one interface is unchanged when the respective timestamp
of the object is newer than that of the respective object on the
simulated interface.
15. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing unit further
divides the at least one interface into a plurality of display
areas and the respective arrangement information of the at least
one interface comprises information indicating a display area of
each object.
16. A machine-readable storage medium comprising a computer
program, which, when executed, causes a device to perform a method
for interface management, wherein the method comprises: receiving a
request message, requesting for arrangement information of at least
one interface which can be displayed on a screen of an electronic
device from a server, wherein the at least one interface contains
at least one object; in response to the request message, obtaining
respective arrangement information of the at least one interface;
and transmitting the respective arrangement information of the at
least one interface to the server, such that a simulated interface
of the at least one interface is displayed on a user interface at
the server side based on the respective arrangement information
received by the server, wherein when a change is made to the
simulated interface of the at least one interface at the server
side, the arrangement of the at least one interface is accordingly
changed.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application claims priority of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/324,303, filed on Apr. 15, 2010, and the
entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The disclosure relates generally to interface management,
and, more particularly to methods and systems for interface
management that manage arrangements of objects of displayed
interfaces of an electronic device via a user interface provided by
a server.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Recently, portable devices, such as mobile or handheld
devices, have become more and more technically advanced and
multifunctional. For example, a mobile device may receive email
messages, have an advanced address book management application,
allow for media playback, and have various other functions. Because
of the conveniences of portable devices with multiple functions,
the devices have become necessities of life.
[0006] Generally, a handheld device can install a large amount of
functions which are implemented as widgets, applications, virtual
or physical buttons, or any other kind of executable program code.
Due to the size limitation of screens or other classification
requirements, only several interfaces, such as menus or pages can
be provided in the handheld device. Users can perform a switching
operation to switch between the interfaces by using a virtual or
physical key, or a touch-sensitive screen.
[0007] Conventionally, users can manually configure the arrangement
and display of the interfaces on an electronic device. For example,
the users may dispose a number of objects, such as widgets,
applications, and/or shortcuts, within the interfaces, to arrange
the positions of the objects, and add or remove any object to or
from originally arranged objects for any interface, by performing a
number of operations. Moreover, one of the images representing the
interfaces may be displayed on a screen of the handheld device.
When the switch operation is performed, another image is displayed
on the screen to replace the original image. Generally, it is hard
to quickly configure the arrangements of one or more than one
interface using a stylus or a finger since the size of a screen
provided in a handheld device is small. To enhance the value of
devices and increase user experience, it is an objective of the
present application to provide easy and applicable interface
management systems and methods for electronic devices.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Methods and systems for interface management are
provided.
[0009] In an embodiment of a method for interface management, a
request message, requesting for arrangement information of at least
one interface is received from a server, wherein the at least one
interface contains at least one object and can be displayed on a
screen of an electronic device according to the arrangement
information. In response to the request message, respective
arrangement information of the at least one interface is obtained
and then transmitted to the server, such that a simulated interface
of the at least one interface is displayed on a user interface at
the server side based on the respective arrangement information
received by the server, wherein when a change is made to the
simulated interface of the at least one interface at the server
side, the arrangement of the at least one interface is accordingly
changed.
[0010] An embodiment of a system for interface management comprises
a storage unit, a screen, and a processing unit. The storage unit
comprises at least one interface, wherein the interface at least
comprises one object and arrangement information corresponding
thereto. The screen displays the at least one interface according
to the arrangement information. The processing unit receives a
request message, requesting for arrangement information of at least
one interface from a server, and in response to the request
message, obtains respective arrangement information of the at least
one interface and then transmits the respective arrangement
information of the at least one interface to the server, such that
a simulated interface of the at least one interface is displayed on
a user interface at the server side based on the respective
arrangement information received by the server, wherein when a
change is made to the simulated interface of the at least one
interface at the server side, the arrangement of the at least one
interface is accordingly changed.
[0011] In some embodiments, the at least one interface comprises a
plurality of objects and the respective arrangement information of
the at least one interface comprises position information, and a
type and/or a name of each of the objects. In some embodiments, the
at least one interface is further divided into a plurality of
display areas and the respective arrangement information of the at
least one interface further comprises information indicating a
display area of each object. In some embodiments, the objects
comprise at least one background, at least one widget, at least one
application icon, or at least one button.
[0012] In some embodiments, an updating request message is further
received from the server and the objects of each of the at least
one interface is rearranged when respective arrangement information
corresponding to the at least one interface is indicated by the
updating request message. In some embodiments, each of the objects
is provided with a timestamp and the arrangement information of the
at least one interface and the arrangement information of the
simulated interface displayed on the user interface at the server
side are further synchronized automatically according to the
timestamp of each object and a timestamp of respective objects at
the server side.
[0013] Methods for interface management may take the form of a
program code embodied in a tangible media. When the program code is
loaded into and executed by a machine, the machine becomes an
apparatus for practicing the disclosed method.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The invention will become more fully understood by referring
to the following detailed description with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
a system for interface management of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
an example of an interface of the invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
an example of an interface with multiple display areas of the
invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
another example of an interface of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for
interface management of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
a simulated interface of the interface of FIG. 3 of the invention,
which is displayed on a user interface at the server side;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
an example of arrangement information of an interface of the
invention; and
[0022] FIGS. 8A to 8D are schematic diagrams illustrating an
embodiment of an example of interface management of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The following description is of the best-contemplated mode
of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the
purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and
should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention
is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
[0024] Methods and systems for interface management are provided.
Embodiments of the invention provide easy and applicable interface
management systems and methods for electronic devices such that
users can quickly change the arrangements of one or more than one
interface of an electronic device via a user interface (e.g. a
specific webpage) at a server side when the electronic device is
connected to the server, thus, enhancing the value of devices and
increasing user experience.
[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of
a system for interface management of the invention. The system for
interface management may be used in an electronic device, such as a
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PDA phone, a smart phone, a
mobile phone, an MID (Mobile Internet Device, MID), a laptop
computer, a tablet computer, a car computer, a digital camera, a
multi-media player, a game device, or any other type of mobile
computational device, however, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited thereto. The system for interface
management 100 is capable of being connected to a server 200 via a
network 300, such as mobile network (e.g., WCDMA network) or
Internet. When connecting to the server 200, the system for
interface management 100 can transmit data to or receive data from
the server 200.
[0026] The system for interface management 100 comprises a screen
110, a storage unit 120, and a processing unit 130. The screen 110
can display data, such as texts, figures, interfaces, and/or
information. It is understood that, in some embodiments, the screen
110 may be integrated with a touch-sensitive device (not shown).
The touch-sensitive device has a touch-sensitive surface comprising
sensors in at least one dimension to detect contact and movement of
at least one object (input tool), such as a pen/stylus or finger
near or on the touch-sensitive surface. Accordingly, users are able
to input commands or signals via the screen. The storage unit 120
comprises a plurality of interfaces 122. For example, respective
interface may comprise a number of objects, such as at least one
widget, at least one application icon, at least one shortcut of a
specific application or folder, and/or at least one button, but it
is not limited thereto. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating
an embodiment of an example of an interface of the invention. As
shown in FIG. 2, the interface 122 shows a widget W1 and four
application shortcuts or buttons A1.about.A4, wherein the widget W1
can obtain data, and perform operations to show the results on the
interface 122, and related applications or functions can be
activated when the application shortcuts or the buttons are
selected. It is to be noted that the arrangement information of
each interface may comprise, for example, but is not limited to,
the number, the type, and/or the position of the objects deployed
on the interface such that the screen 110 can display and arrange
the interface according to its respective arrangement information.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an
example of arrangement information of an interface of the
invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the arrangement information 700
comprises the type 710 of the objects (e.g. a widget or an
application), the position information 720 of the objects deployed
on the interface and the name 730 of the objects, wherein the
position information 720 of a specific object may indicate which
interface among the interfaces the specific object belongs to and
which display area the object located. For example, as shown in
FIG. 7, the position information 720 indicates that this specific
object belongs to the interface 3, which is the middle interface
among all of the interfaces and the specific object is located on
the display area D9 shown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the
arrangement information of a respective interface may further
comprise the wallpaper information 740 which will be displayed as
the background of the interface.
[0027] It is understood that, in some embodiments, the respective
interface may correspond to a menu of the electronic device,
wherein the plurality of objects of the respective interface are
deployed to be displayed in a specific arrangement. Each specific
interface may be divided into a number of display areas and each
object of the specific interface is arranged to be deployed to be
displayed in a specific display area. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram
illustrating an embodiment of an example of an interface with
multiple display areas of the invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the
interface 300 has been divided into twelve display areas D0-D11, in
which object O1 is deployed to be displayed in the display area D0,
object O2 is deployed to be displayed in the display area D6, and
object O3 is deployed to be displayed in the display area D9. It is
understood that, while objects are deployed in different display
areas, the arrangement of the interface 300 can be viewed via the
screen and recorded in the storage unit 120. It is noted that, each
arrangement of a respective interface may be recorded in the
storage unit 120 and displayed on a screen when the interfaces are
switched. In some embodiments, the arrangement information of the
interfaces can be configured in advance, and stored in a database
of the storage unit 120. For example, when the screen 110 displays
the interface 300 in FIG. 3, and a user slides a finger on the
screen 110, a specific interface 400 with objects B1-B9 can be
displayed in the screen 110, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0028] The processing unit 130 can perform the method for interface
management of the present invention, which will be discussed
further in the following paragraphs. The server 200 may further
comprise at least one user interface 220. The user interface 220
may display related data, such as texts, figures, interfaces,
and/or related information, and users are able to input related
commands or signals via the user interface 220.
[0029] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for
interface management of the invention. The method for interface
management can be used in an electronic device, such as a PDA, a
PDA phone, a smart phone, a mobile phone, an MID, a laptop
computer, a tablet computer, a car computer, a digital camera, a
multi-media player, a game device, or any other type of mobile
computational device, however, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited thereto.
[0030] In step S510, a request message, requesting for arrangement
information of all of the interfaces is received from the server
200, wherein each of the interfaces can be displayed on the screen
of an electronic device. It is to be noted that, the processing
unit 130 may first perform a registration procedure to login to the
server 200 by using a specific account before it is able to receive
data from or transmit data to the server 200. During the
registration procedure, the server 200 may determine whether the
user is an authorized user by inspecting whether the specific
account is one of the registered accounts stored in the server 200
and the electronic device is allowed to communicate with the server
200 only if the specific account is one of the registered accounts.
After the electronic device has successfully logged on to the
server 200, the server 200 sends the request message, requesting
for arrangement information of the interfaces to the electronic
device. It is understood that, in some embodiments, the respective
interface may comprise a plurality of objects deployed to be
displayed via the screen and the arrangement information of each
interface may comprise the number, the type, and/or the position of
the objects deployed on the interface. It is understood that, in
some embodiments, the respective interface may correspond to a menu
of the electronic device. In some embodiments, the objects of the
respective interface can comprise at least one widget, at least one
application icon, at least one shortcut of a specific application
or folder, and/or at least one button, but it is not limited
thereto. In some embodiments, the respective interface can further
comprise the wallpaper which will be displayed as a background of
the interface and the arrangement information of the respective
interface can comprise the wallpaper information. In some
embodiments, the wallpaper may have an equal height and length,
such as 1024.times.1024.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 5, in step S520, in response to the
request message, respective arrangement information of each
interface is obtained. It is to be noted that, the respective
arrangement information of each interface may be stored in the
database of the storage unit 120 so that the processing unit 130
may obtain the respective arrangement information of each interface
from the database of the storage unit 120. It is understood that,
in some embodiments, a default interface will be displayed on the
screen when the electronic device is activated, or a specific
interface will be displayed on the screen when the electronic
device is resumed from a specific state, in which the specific
interface is the final interface of the specific state. After the
respective arrangement information of each interface has been
obtained, in step S530, a reply message containing the respective
arrangement information of each interface is transmitted to the
server 200. Upon reception of the reply message containing the
respective arrangement information of each interface from the
electronic device, a simulated interface of each interface is
displayed on the user interface 220 at the server 200 side based on
the respective arrangement information received by the server 200.
For example, if an interface 300 is arranged as shown in FIG. 3,
the simulated interface 300' of the interface 300 is displayed on
the user interface 220 at the server 200 side, as shown in FIG. 6.
In other words, the interface 300 can be rebuilt at the server 200
side via the user interface 220. It is understood that, in this
embodiment, all of the interfaces can be displayed together on a
single page of the user interface 220, such that the user may then
rearrange the arrangement of one or more interfaces via the input
units (e.g. a keyboard or a mouse) of the user interface 220 at the
server 200 side rather than rearranging via the object (e.g. a
pen/stylus or finger) on the electronic device. When a change is
made to the simulated interface 300' of the interface 300 at the
server 200 side, the arrangement of the interface 300 at the
electronic device will be accordingly changed. For example,
referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the user wishes to change the
position of the object O3 of the interface 300 from point A to
point B, the user may simply select the object O3 at respective
point A' on the user interface 220, drag and drop the object O3 to
the point B', e.g. using a mouse, (FIG. 8A), and the object O3 of
the interface 300 on the electronic device will then be accordingly
changed from point A to pint B, as shown in FIG. 8B. It is
understood that, the server 200 will transmit an update message to
the electronic device whenever it detects that the arrangement of
the simulated interface 300' of the interface 300 has been changed
or a predetermined sync period has been reached.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 5, in step S540, it is then determined
whether an updating request message is received from the server
200. The updating request message may further comprise the
arrangement information of each interface or may only indicate the
arrangement information of each changed interface. If no updating
message has been received (No in step S540), the procedure returns
to step S540. When the updating message is received (Yes in step
S540), which means that the arrangements of some interfaces may
have been changed, in step S550, the objects of each of the changed
interfaces are rearranged according to the updating request message
when respective arrangement information corresponding to the
changed interface is indicated by the updating request message. In
this step, the updating message may comprise the arrangement
information of each changed interface so that each changed
interface can be rearranged according to the respective arrangement
information indicated by the updating request message.
[0033] In some embodiments, after the server 200 and the electronic
device have been synchronized, the user may directly change the
arrangement of a specific interface on the electronic device or
change the arrangement of the specific interface via the user
interface at the server 200 side, such that the arrangement
information recorded in the storage unit 120 and the server 200 are
inconsistent. Therefore, a timestamp is further provided to each of
the objects to indicate when an object has been changed. The
arrangement information of the specific interface and the
arrangement information of the simulated interface displayed on the
user interface 220 at the server 200 side are synchronized to each
other according to the timestamp of each object and a timestamp of
respective objects at the server 200 side.
[0034] In one embodiment, one of the objects of at least one
interface is rearranged according to a respective object displayed
on the simulated interface when the respective timestamp of the
object is older than that of the respective object on the simulated
interface. For example, if a specific object of at least one
interface has a timestamp of 2 pm and the respective object
displayed on the simulated interface has a timestamp of 3 pm, the
specific object of at least one interface is rearranged according
to the arrangement information of the respective object displayed
on the simulated interface. In another embodiment, one of the
objects of the at least one interface is not changed when the
respective timestamp of the object is newer than that of the
respective object on the simulated interface. In some embodiments,
the one of the objects of the simulated interface is changed
according to a respective object displayed on the interface when
the respective timestamp of the object is newer than that of the
respective object on the simulated interface. For example, if a
specific object of at least one interface has a timestamp of 3 pm
and the respective object displayed on the simulated interface has
a timestamp of 2 pm, the one of the objects of the simulated
interface is changed according to the respective object displayed
on the interface.
[0035] It is understood that, in some embodiments, the interfaces
can be arranged in sequence and the user may further rearrange the
order of each interface by the user interface 220 at the server 200
side. Referring to FIGS. 8C-8D, which are schematic diagrams
illustrating an embodiment of an example of interface management of
the invention. For example, in the example of FIG. 8C, the
interfaces I0-I6 are arranged in a sequence I0.about.I6 at the
device side and the interfaces I0.about.I6 are rearranged to a new
sequence I1, I3, I5, I0, I2, I4 and I6 via the user interface 220
at the server 200 side, such that the interfaces I0.about.I6 at the
device side are rearranged to the new sequence I1, I3, I5, I0, I2,
I4 and I6 as same as the server side, as shown in FIG. 8D. It is
understood that, in some embodiments, the arrangement information
of the interfaces can be automatically synchronized between the
electronic device and the server 200 upon detection of any change
made at the device side and the server 200 or upon each
predetermined fixed sync period.
[0036] Therefore, the methods and systems for interface management
can quickly change the arrangements of one or more than one
interface of the electronic device via a user interface at a server
side, thus, enhancing the value of devices and increasing user
experience.
[0037] Methods for interface management, or certain aspects or
portions thereof, may take the form of a program code (i.e.,
executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy
diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable
storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and
executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine thereby
becomes an apparatus for practicing the methods. The methods may
also be embodied in the form of a program code transmitted over
some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling,
through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission,
wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and
executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an
apparatus for practicing the disclosed methods. When implemented on
a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the
processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously
to application specific logic circuits.
[0038] While the invention has been described by way of example and
in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this
technology can still make various alterations and modifications
without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention.
Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and
protected by the following claims and their equivalent.
* * * * *